Ginger and Sparky go to the land of the rising sun

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Monthly Archives: September 2017

As always (this was our 4th stay in Tokyo), Tokyo did not disappoint. Our apartment was huge and situated back in our favourite hood – ShinjukuGyoen Mae. We even had a table and chairs, which was an absolute luxury.

With Sheryn’s fixation on anything electronic, we headed for Electric Town – Akihabara, on Saturday, for an electronic overload. First stop was our beloved Bic Camera – 8 floors of absolutely everything you didn’t know you needed. Head sets and ear buds alone filled one floor! Back on street level, the main roads had been converted to pedestrian use and the place was literally humming with male gaming and geek tokyites. Thousands of people were wandering, lying and sitting in the streets all taking selfies and group pics with a backdrop of high rises covered in neon selling, manga, electronics and sex toys. Seriously crazy place!

Maid cafes are now everywhere in Tokyo, alongside Cat cafes, Owl cafes, Dog cafes and Hedgehog cafes. I was super keen on the hedgehog cafe, but couldn’t rouse any interest from my team. Ever the optimist, I kept at it, but due to resounding and consistent ‘no’s’ from the team, we always lunched at animal free locations.

We all loved Tokyo, we love the contrasts, the bright lights, the huge parks, the temples, the neon, the orderliness, the craziness, the unparalleled service and in the midst of it – the honesty…no one touches your stuff. Handbags and phones are safe left on tables, luggage is stored at the ends of the trains and is still there when you get off, lost items are always handed in and cars, bikes and scooters are all parked around the city unlocked. Also a city of much structure – one of our head scratching moments was when we jumped off a ferry a stop early, and had to pay extra because it wasn’t the stop listed on our ticket. Love you Japan…see you next time!